


honey stars

by laehys



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Carnival, Crushes, M/M, Meet-Cute, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, just rensung being cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:40:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27867765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laehys/pseuds/laehys
Summary: Jisung doesn't believe in love at first sight, but now he definitely believes in crushes at first sight because hecannotlook at this boy for a single second at all. He'll probably implode just because of that. He's pretty sure of that, actually — his face is burning and he's overheating; maybe he's already started the imploding process.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Park Jisung
Comments: 8
Kudos: 104





	honey stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [renjaune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/renjaune/gifts).



> this little thing is for [mel](https://twitter.com/_renjaune_) who is the #1 rensung fan and !!!! a baby and !!!!! a big sweetheart and one of the most amazing people i have found in the hell that is stan twt. hi mel, u are incredible and i love you, so have rensung being cute so i can show u how much u matter to me <3 hi <3

The sun burns and bothers him too much, but Jisung continues in his place in the line. People come and go, but just the stubborn ones (or, maybe, the ones that really want to go on that ride) stay. Just like him.

The thing is — he isn't excited about going on that big, scary ride. It looks like it has too many loops, too many drops, for one simple human heart to be able to handle it all. It doesn't look like someone should be able to survive all of that _at all_.

But he still stays there. Underneath the scorching sun, feeling sweat drip down the back of his neck and slide underneath the big shirt he wears. He still stands there because he wants to prove to himself he _can_ do it. He can face his fears and he can do it by himself. He doesn't always need a helping hand — he can do it. He _can_.

The line gets shorter and Jisung feels his hands starting to sweat even more. He tries to, discreetly, wipe them over his jeans, but he feels like every move that he does only makes more people pay attention to him, even though no one is looking in his direction.

When he gets to the front of the line, the rollercoaster suddenly doesn't feel like such a good idea. The overworked staff doesn't pay him any mind, doesn't notice his shaking hands or pale face; the stressed teenager only looks at his standing form and asks, "Are you alone?"

Jisung nods his head, feeling his mouth too dry to say anything, but he finds he doesn't need to when the staff is already pushing him in the direction of one of the empty cars while screaming, "Is there anyone here who's also alone?"

Jisung kind of wants to dig a hole on the floor and hide there forever, while also kind of wants to just fucking disappear into thin air. He feels like there are a thousand eyes upon him, even though he _rationally_ knows that there aren't but... It still feels like it.

A boy appears in the front of the line and is pushed towards the car Jisung is in. He looks too stylish to be by himself there, all alone — with high-waisted pants and a shirt carefully tucked in, dark hair a little on the longer side, just enough to tuck behind his ears, he looks like a guy with a good Instagram feed and who hangs with the cool kids.

Jisung doesn't believe in love at first sight, but now he definitely believes in crushes at first sight because he _cannot_ look at this boy for a single second at all. He'll probably implode just because of that. He's pretty sure of that, actually — his face is burning and he's overheating; maybe he's already started the imploding process.

The boy says an easy " _Hey_ ", and Jisung _swears_ that if angels were human boys they would sound just like this one on his side. He tries to answer a cool " _What's up_ ," but he isn't entirely sure if it goes well when his hands are fumbling with the lap bar and his legs are bouncing up and down.

The staff checks their restraints to make sure they're all safe before moving into checking the other people, and Jisung takes a deep, _deep,_ breath.

"Are you okay?" The boy asks, moving his head to the side, trying to have a look at Jisung's face. "Are you feeling sick? Do you want to get out of here? I can call the staff for you."

Jisung gulps, licking over his lips. “ _N-no_ , I’m okay—” he says, even though his voice cracks a little. Jisung breaks away the staring contest he was doing with the ground and looks to the side, catching a look at the boy. _Not the best idea_ , his last half brain cell screams at him, but it’s too late already and Jisung feels himself flushing even more. “Pretty good, all is okay, everything’s fine, don’t need to worry at all.”

His mouth keeps spewing out words and the pretty boy in front of him only lifts his eyebrows, taking it all in, before he settles for a curt nod, confusion written on the slight furrow of his brow. “Okay...” He says, slowly. “If you want to get out, we still have time. Until everyone gets strapped in, at least…”

Jisung nods once, twice. Maybe a little too quick. He looks to the side, stares at his hands clutching the safety bar tightly, then to the boy again. Flushes a little more. “Cool, cool,” he says, not cool at all. “It’s all well.”

“Dude,” the boy starts, “are you sure? You don’t seem very… well. You don’t need to do this if you don’t want to…”

Jisung knuckles were already white from holding on so tight, but his grip increases a little bit before replies, “Nobody is forcing me,” he says, voice weak. “I’m doing this for myself. Because I _want_.” There’s a strength hidden underneath his voice, tone laced with something brave, something Jisung isn’t too used to hearing come out of himself. But he likes it and he owns it. It’s the truth — and it’s _his_ truth.

The boy only shrugs. “Okay. But don’t be dumb and do this only to end up sick. I don’t want you to end up throwing up on me, okay?”

The boldness floods out a little from Jisung’s system. Suddenly he doesn’t feel as sure as he had been a few seconds ago. What if he gets sick? What if he _really_ can’t handle it and ends up throwing up all over the pretty boy? Jisung couldn’t bear that. He’d never been able to step a foot outside of his door _ever_ again.

“Uhh, ma—”

The whirring noise fills out his hearing and all that Jisung can feel is his body being propelled backwards as the entire rollercoaster train starts to move. Shit. _Shit._

“Okay,” Jisung squeaks, more to himself than to the boy by his side. “Okay, this is happening.”

“Yeah?” Obviously, the boy didn’t get the memo about Jisung’s internal monologue, so he keeps talking, “Dude, are you _really_ okay?”

The sun is starting to set as the cart goes up and up and up for what seems like an eternity, the first drop just seconds away, but all that Jisung can see is how the orange rays of the setting sun reflect on the boy’s eyes and how concerned he looks for him.

Jisung tries to muster a smile, but he feels like it might come out more like a grimace. “I’m so sorry if I end up sick all over you,” he says, solemnly, seeing from the corner of his vision the first drop getting closer. Dear god, that’s how he’s supposed to go, maybe — dying from a heart attack at the tender age of 18 just as he decided to go alone on a rollercoaster.

The boy purses his lips for a second before nodding his head, almost as if he’d already accepted his fate a long time ago. “At least it’s a cute boy and not a random old man this time.”

The first drop comes, the boy screams, throwing his hands into the air and laughing out loud. Jisung doesn’t have enough brain cells to register the drop, mind too busy trying to make out the fact that _pretty boy_ thought _he_ was _cute_?

_He?_

And then they're moving upside down, to the left, to the right, the boy's laugh echoing in his ears, and all Jisung can do is hold tight for dear life as he tries to control his breathing, eyes pressed shut together until he feels a nudge on his side, the boys twinkling laughter still resounding around them.

"Are you okay?" He sounds a little concerned, though his voice is all smiles. Jisung can't see him with his eyes closed, but he just knows that the boy is smiling wide.

So, when he cracks open his eyes a little, taking a very big, relieved breath when he sees that they won't have another drop or loop in the next five seconds, Jisung turns to the side a little and sees that he had been right — the boy is still smiling wide, but his eyes shine with concern and his eyebrows are even a little furrowed right now, almost as if he's trying to read inside Jisung's mind.

Jisung nods, tries to say something but his voice cracks miserably, so he clears his throat before trying again, "Oh, _god_ —" Once again it comes out more like a squeak, but the boy smiles gently, as if trying to indulge him to keep going on. " _Yeah?_ " It's more of a question than an answer, but the boy laughs, nonetheless.

"Are you sick?" He asks quickly, looking to the front for a second, and when Jisung follows his gaze he sees that another drop is coming. And _quickly_.

" _N-no?!_ "

If he had thought that he couldn't grip the safety bar even tighter, then he had been wrong because now — now he's definitely holding it tighter than ever before.

"I'm gonna die," Jisung mutters to himself, "Oh, god, I'm gonna die."

"You won't die!" The boy exclaims, resting his hand over Jisung's own hand, squeezing it quickly before pulling away. "Trust me! I—"

He doesn't finish his phrase, the drop coming, and he lifts up his arms once again, laughing out loud after every " _Whoop!_ " he lets out, arms flapping as the strong wind rushes by them, the screams from others getting all mixed. Jisung closes his eyes tight again, feeling his stomach turning into knots; he doesn't know if that's because the pretty boy held his hand or because of the rollercoaster.

Probably both.

The last loop is coming closer and Jisung pants hard, chest heaving as if he had been running a marathon for hours without a break; he tries to discretely wipe his clammy hands on his pants before holding onto the safety bar with the however little amount of the strength he had left in his body.

"Hey, what's your name?" The boy asks as the car starts to go up, up, up again.

Startled with the sudden question, Jisung turns his head quickly to the side. "What? Me?"

"Yeah, your name."

Jisung stares wide-eyed at him, but the drop is approaching, and Jisung needs to close his eyes or he'll ascend from where he is direct to heaven, but the pretty boy is still looking at him with a careful gaze, so Jisung mutters a shaky " _Jisung_ " before shutting his eyes again and hoping for the best.

The boy laughs again, screaming an ear-shattering " _I'm Renjun!_ " before letting out another yell as the last drop comes. Jisung only holds tight and prays to all the gods and non-gods that he survives this — only this and he'll be the best person in the entire universe, never doing a wrong thing ever again in his entire life.

The drop ends, Renjun's screams subdues, and Jisung only realizes he stopped when he feels his shoulders being shaken and a hand trying to pry his fingers from the death grip he had on the safety bar.

"It's okay," Renjun says, trying to make Jisung come back out of it. "It already ended, dude. You survived it."

Jisung groans out loud, lowering his entire torso and putting his head between his knees, breathing loudly. He only feels some pats on his back, ears still ringing and head too dizzy, but far away, in the distance, he can hear an annoyed voice calling out, "Come on, guys. We need to load more people now. Your time has ended."

"He's taking his time!" Renjun's voice comes out, sounding all offended. "Wait for just a second! Jesus!" And then he mutters, just low enough for Jisung to hear, "Don't worry about him. Just leave when you feel better, okay?"

Answering with an undecipherable groan, Jisung rubs at his eyes with the palm of his hands before lifting his head, raking a hand through his hair. "Okay," he says, voice shaky. "Let's go."

When he tries to get up from the car, his knees buckle and his legs threaten to give out under him, but he holds himself in the last second by grabbing the side of the car. Renjun immediately comes to his side, one hand wrapping around his waist to help support him, and so they leave the ride, more stumbling and half-dragging one another than truly walking.

Jisung wonders what kind of scene they must make for others around them: a tall, lanky, boy in all black clothing, barely being able to support himself and needing the help of this smaller boy with his shoulders straight and looking all fancy and aesthetic as shit.

Still, when they get far away enough from the ride and find the emptiest bench available (Renjun forces him to seat and squeezes himself between Jisung and a random dude, nudging and softly elbowing the guy until he decides to go away and leave the bench only for them), Jisung only groans again and stares hard at the ground, breathing in deeply.

His stomach is still turning, mind with too many thoughts and nothing at all at the same time, a bitter taste on the back of his throat. He _really_ doesn't want to be sick in front of a pretty boy who helped him.

"Hey, Jisung," Renjun says, almost carefully, patting him on the knee. Jisung tries not to startle by the sound of his name coming out of Renjun's mouth, the last few minutes flashing by before his eyes. "Are you sure you're doing fine? Did you come here with someone? Is there anyone you can call to help you?"

Jisung flushes a bit. A pretty boy is something — but a pretty boy giving him all the attention, being so mindful, is another.

It's impossible for him to hold eye-contact for long when all he can think about is the way he almost lost his mind back in that rollercoaster, refusing to move or even open his eyes, while Renjun tried to comfort him a little bit while still enjoying it all.

But he had done it. He had gone on that ride by himself, he had faced his fears, and he had _survived_.

Had it all been worth it? Jisung isn't too sure about it — but if he counts the fact that a pretty boy is by his side and worried about him, then maybe.

"It's okay," Jisung answers. "My friends are here, but I wanted to go alone on that thing."

Renjun frowns a little, squeezing Jisung's knee. "Was it a dare? Or was it because you really wanted to? Because, dude, you shouldn't be pressured to—"

"No, no!" Jisung cuts him off quickly, waving his hand around. "It was because I wanted to go. I... I wanted to go alone and actually _do it_."

Renjun doesn't reply immediately, but he pulls back a little, taking his hand back with him, and his expression melts from an intense one he was sporting to something softer, gentler.

There's a small smile curling on the corner of his lips and he nods once, quickly. "Ah, I see... It's okay, then. But you shouldn't go over your limits, dude. If you feel like you can't do something, you shouldn't force yourself just because you want to. Respecting your limits is just as important!"

The more Renjun keeps talking, the fiercer look gets back to his face, eyebrows knotting together as he tries to express all his emotions. Jisung can't help but think how endearing that is — a small boy with such big movements, expressions, presence.

Renjun seemed to be bigger than his form showed. He was confident and sure of everything he did.

"Y-yeah... Thanks..." Jisung says, not really sure how to keep the conversation going but also not wanting Renjun to just go away. He suddenly wishes his friends were closer so he could get some tips on how to talk with pretty boys (even though they'd only probably tease him and not really help at all). "Are you... uh... are you alone here?"

Jisung tries hard, he really tries — he looks Renjun in the eyes, ready to be assertive and cool, but Renjun's eyes are very pretty and sparkly, and he's smiling so softly, so gentle, that Jisung needs to look away and pray hard he isn't flushing as much as he feels he must be.

"No," Renjun replies and Jisung feels his heart plummeting straight to the ground. "But I think my friends ditched me to go on all the couple's rides. Why?" He asks, tilting his head to the side.

Immediately Jisung knows that Renjun is teasing him. There's no way he can't be when he's smiling like _that_ and his eyebrow is barely lifted. He's teasing him and Jisung feels flustered, his stomach all messed up and body feeling too warm. Renjun makes him feel all giddy and Jisung can't have enough of it.

"Just... uhh... to know... Cool, cool," he says, scratching the back of his neck, looking over Renjun's shoulder before he tries to take another glance at him. "Cool," he repeats once more, internally wincing at how uncool he sounds.

"Cool..." Renjun drawls, still watching him carefully.

Jisung feels exposed and vulnerable, and he's sure his entire face is beet-red by now. But there's nothing he can do about it, so he takes another deep breath, briefly biting his lip before blurting out, "Hey, can I get your number?"

Renjun lifts both of his eyebrows, standing totally still for a second, before he chuckles and scratches the side of his neck, suddenly shy. "Yeah," he says, "Here, let's exchange them."

Jisung hands him his phone — screen scratched months ago, with a big bump on the side and a sticker of little stars trying to hold part of the cracked screen together. Renjun's phone was bare besides the cute aesthetic case; Jisung thought it matched him a lot.

"Okay," Jisung says, licking over lips quickly. "T-thank you."

"Are you going to text me later?" Renjun says. His voice is bold, forward, even though he's twisting his fingers and bites his lower lip when he finishes talking.

Jisung gulps. Suddenly his heart is beating too fast. "Y-yeah? I mean... wasn't I supposed to do that?"

"Yeah, that would be nice. I'm just making sure that another cute boy isn't going to ghost me again."

Jisung gasps. He can't believe someone would ever _ghost Renjun._ Renjun! "No, I'm not," he says, feeling more brave than he usually would. "Look, I'm texting you already." He pulls out his phone and sends a smiley emoji to the newly created chat, " _Renjun_ 💫🌠" showing at the top of the screen.

Renjun chuckles and shakes his head. "You're too cute, Jisung."

Though Jisung stutters and fumbles a little, trying to deny it, Renjun won't pay him any mind and refuses to listen when he says that he isn't cute. He isn't, goddammit. The cute one there is obviously Renjun.

"Are you feeling better now?" Renjun asks after a while, having sent back a cute smiley emoji and texted his friends. "Or are you still sick?"

"I'm better," Jisung replies quickly. "I'm all better now."

The truth is — he didn't even remember that all the rollercoaster thing had happened just a few moments ago. His mind is too busy with Renjun and creating scenarios and ideas of what to say to him, of not letting that moment end, and the entire rollercoaster journey felt like it had happened weeks and weeks ago, in a far away place.

"Oh, so I made you feel all better, then?" Renjun asks, a small smirk making its way on his face. Suddenly he's all brave and bold again, and Jisung wonders how much of that is just a façade and how nervous he also is.

"Yeah," he chooses to say, relishing on the way Renjun freezes and his cheeks go red.

"Oh."

They look at each other in silence for a few seconds before falling into a fit of laughter, clutching their bellies as their bodies shake with mirth.

Renjun's black hair shines under the multi-colored lights of all the rides of the park and Jisung can't help but look transfixed at him. He'd always thought the metaphor and talk about feeling butterflies inside your stomach was a joke, but now, faced with Renjun's pretty eyes and warm smile directed at him, laughing at a bad joke he had made, Jisung can't help but think _Ah, so this is what it must feel like._

It spreads from his belly throughout all over his body, making his head a little hazy, fingertips tingling. He never thought he'd be one to get a crush so quick on someone, but the fact he had Renjun's number saved on his phone made it easier. It didn't necessarily needed to be a one-time crush — a cute boy he saw, fell for, and would never see ever again in his life.

Almost as if he was reading his mind, Renjun bumps their shoulders together and says, "Do you to try and get something on the shooting booth?"

They both suck terribly at it. They waste too much money to only leave empty-handed, but all the laughter and pictures he took of Renjun for his Instagram feed were part of the memories they were building that day. And Jisung wants nothing more but that — create good memories of that dream-like day.

Renjun is quick-witted and funny and there's never a boring moment with him. Jisung thinks he never laughed so much in one day like it was happening at that moment, together with Renjun. They just seemed to have clicked well together, and when they take a break in walking through all the booths to eat something, even the food they choose is the same.

Squeezed together into a small bench filled with too many people, thighs touching, Jisung beams over their shared plate and Renjun only smiles back, cheeks round and filled with food.

(If Jisung takes a picture of that, proclaiming it was just _too_ cute and keeps it to himself, then Renjun couldn't complain too much. He had seen the Renjun taking a picture or two when he thought Jisung wasn't looking.)

They walk together through the entire place and talk a little about everything. Jisung tells him how he's starting college soon and Renjun mourns a little about the fact they will be in different places. When they come across a more extreme and adrenaline-filled ride, Jisung waits for Renjun to have a chance to ride it before he rejoins him on the ground.

With his hair tussled, cheeks flushed, and voice a little hoarse from all the screaming, Renjun looks even more beautiful, and Jisung can only smile as Renjun recounts how it felt being held upside-down and thrown around with a dozen people. It was too intense for Jisung, so he prefers to go on the ferris wheel or the carousel. The safer rides.

Renjun tugs him by the arm into the ferris wheel's direction, saying it's the perfect one to end their day, but they can't get in when it's all filled up and the line looks so big, so Jisung moves them into the carousel's direction.

"This is for kids," Renjun complains while trying to get up on the blue horse. "The ferris wheel is the one for the older lot," he says, even though more than half of the people in the carousel were teenagers or adults and not kids.

"I see," Jisung comments, nonchalantly, as he eyes Renjun struggle for a bit until he can finally sit upon the blue horse and holds the pole in front of him tight. "And yet you fought for this horse with that guy," he points with his head to a couple in front of them, both sitting inside a spinning teacup.

Renjun shrugs. "The blue horse looked a lot more badass," he says easily, like that answered everything. And in a way it did. "It even has some lightning on it, look!"

Jisung lowers his head a little, trying to see if on the side of the horse really there was some lightning, but the cracked paint made it hard to see much. When he lifts his head up, Renjun is ready and pats the top of his head, his touch something soft.

"Oh, your hair really is as soft as it looks."

Jisung kind of ascends right there and then, but he holds on to the side of the blue horse as the carousel starts spinning, trying not to blush too much. By Renjun's laugh, he imagines he did a poor job of concealing it — but he shrugs it off; Renjun already knows he's kind of into him. There's no reason to pretend by now.

"Thanks," he still mutters, fidgeting with the ends of his shirt, spreading his legs apart a little so he could balance himself while standing.

While he watched Renjun's struggle to get on the blue horse, Jisung lost his chance of securing one for himself, but he doesn't mind getting stranded in the middle. It's not like there are people walking around; everyone is just enjoying the ride with whoever they are together, in their places, so Jisung doesn't feel too bad for standing in the middle.

Renjun, though, watches him for a second before patting the end of his blue horse. "Jump in," he says. "Come on, Jisung, or this bad boy is going to ride off and you'll be left behind."

Jisung snorts and rolls his eyes, crossing his arms against his chest, but he can't help the smile that forms on his face. He continues standing where he is. "This won't be able to hold us both," he says, "and there's no space there."

"What? No! You can come in, see!" Renjun shuffles forward a bit, and there's enough space behind him, but Jisung feels too shy by the idea of sitting there, of being so close to Renjun.

"I don't think it would work, though," Jisung says, scratching the side of his neck. "It's okay."

Renjun shrugs and settles back on his original place, still smiling at him. "Are you sure you're okay there, though? You're missing the fun by just standing there."

"I'm having fun, don't worry."

Renjun sends him a curious look, head tilting a little, but he laughs it off. "Okay, if you say so."

And Jisung is sure of that. Under the glowing golden lights, with the loud music coming from the speakers, screams and laughter coming from all sides, Jisung _is_ having fun.

Renjun smiles as he strokes the blue mane of the horse he had chosen, gripping tight the pole in front of him when the carousel falters in place before continuing. He sends a look to Jisung and they both laugh together — maybe at nothing, maybe at everything. The atmosphere almost feels magical and Jisung feels silly, laughing and smiling too much, his body all warm and filled with good things.

The fairy lights all over the carnival keeps shining and the multicolors lamps keep making Renjun's black hair look colorful. They all reflect in Renjun's eyes and Jisung can't stop himself from looking at him. And, whenever he does that, whenever he steals a glance at Renjun, he sees the smaller boy doing just the same, and Jisung can't help but wonder if, maybe, Renjun feels the same way as him — kind of enchanted, kind of captivated.

When the ride ends and they're all in a line trying to leave the place, looking around to decide where to go next, Renjun bumps into his arm. Jisung almost startles, but he catches himself in the last second, and when he looks down, he sees Renjun's hand outstretched, almost touching his fingers before he retreats it back, stuffing it into the pocket of his pants.

"Sorry," Renjun says, cheeks all flushed and avoiding his eye.

Standing on the other side, of not being the one being flustered to hell, Jisung swallows heavily before he musters all the courage he has in his body (not that much when it comes to _those_ things, but he feels the thrill running through his veins and he knows he needs to do something).

So Jisung breathes in deeply before he wraps his hand around Renjun's wrist, tugging his hand from the pocket, and holding it with his own.

But all the bravery leaves his body — Jisung just can't look at him anymore. He hears Renjun's giggle from his side, hears the scuffling sound of their shoes against the ground, but he can't turn to see his reaction.

And he doesn't do that. He tries to pretend he's all cool until Renjun says a " _Wait_ ," and lets go of his hand. Jisung barely has time to feel bad because Renjun, then, holds it again, but this time he enlaces their fingers together and Jisung is certain: he's going to explode.

"I like this way better," Renjun explains, squeezing his hand gently, and Jisung squeaks out what almost is a positive exclamation. Even he isn't too sure of the sounds he lets out.

Together they walk through the rest of the place. They try the shooting booth once more and Jisung is determined, _so_ determined, to win Renjun something — but luck isn't on their side and they both fail miserably. Once again.

It almost seems like they're living inside a dream. Scorching sun changing into a dripping sunset who changes into a starry night. The fairy lights, the rainbow colors flashing by in the corner of their vision, the hazy and soft edges, the reminder of the warm feeling left by the sun just as the night approaches by the corner.

It's a dream that ends as soon as the ringing from their phones becomes too much to ignore. Renjun is the first one to pull it out, sending Jisung a quick apologetic look as he accepts the call; but, right after, Jisung's phone starts ringing and his friend wants to go back home. He can't ignore that.

They both look at each other with sorry smiles on their faces as realization falls upon them.

"You need to go too, right?" Renjun asks, still holding his phone in his hands.

Jisung nods, feeling his mouth too dry.

He doesn't know how to end that moment. How to carry this thing into his normal days and continue from where they stopped. He doesn't want Renjun to be only a far away memory from an evening in the carnival.

"Let's keep in touch, okay?" Renjun says, voice turning into something vulnerable. He opens his mouth to say more, but then stops himself. He does that two more times before finally saying, "Don't ghost me, please," he adds, with a joking tone, but Jisung can feel it's not really a joke.

"I won't ghost you," Jisung says quickly, trying to convey everything in those words. How can he explain to Renjun he had a great day? That he really liked every minute by his side? How to show all of that without being too much?

The screen of his phone flashes up once more, the name of his friend blinking. Renjun looks sadly at the device, a bitter smile spreading on his lips.

"Go," he says. "They're waiting for you."

Jisung bits the inside of his cheek, debating his action, before he surges up, getting closer to Renjun and depositing a quick kiss on his cheek. He pulls away quickly, a blushing mess, but Renjun doesn't seem to look that far better.

"Bye," Jisung squeaks out, waving his hand. Renjun waves back, a wide smile forming on his lips.

Jisung runs away quickly, feeling too flustered, too embarrassed by what he had just done. But, before, he could turn on the corner and away from his vision completely, Jisung looks over his shoulder and he catches Renjun looking in another direction, but with a hand on the cheek he had just received the kiss on.

" _Oh my fucking god,_ " Jisung mutters to himself as he keeps walking, feeling his heart racing too much. Definitely more than it should. He's certain of that. His phone rings again and he picks it up, annoyed. "What do you want, Chenle? I said I'm close already!"

" _Hey._ "

The voice from the other side of the line definitely isn't Chenle's. Jisung feels his heart stutter inside his chest and he stops on his tracks, feeling his mouth too dry. When he quickly pulls his phone away from his ear, the name is there just like he knew it would be: _Renjun_ 💫🌠.

"Ah... hey..." Jisung says, sheepishly. He gets back on his pace, walking where his friend is waiting for him. "Sorry about that... I thought it was my friend annoying me again..."

Renjun's twinkling laugh is just as endearing on the phone as it is in real life. " _I imagined,_ " he says. " _I was just, uh... wondering if you're free tomorrow? We could go out and eat some ice cream._ "

Jisung can't believe this is happening. He can't stop himself from smiling and he needs to muffle his mouth or else he'd stay giggling non-stop.

When he doesn't answer back, Renjun says hurriedly, " _But, like, feel free to decline! I know we just said goodbye and all, and you're probably still here and haven't even gone away, and maybe it's too early but I just_ —"

"Yes," Jisung cuts him off, laughing a little. "I'm free tomorrow and we could go out. It'd be pretty neat."

Renjun stays silent for a second before he exhales shakily and then giggles. " _Oh, god. Okay, okay. We can text the details later, right?_ "

"Yeah, I'll text you. I know a place."

" _Okay... Bye, then. Get home safely._ "

Jisung bites his lower lip hard, trying to suppress a scream, but then he quickly says, "You too! Be careful! Bye, bye!"

They end the call and Jisung looks up to the night sky, taking a deep breath in. His heart is racing too much, his mind all confused, and he's feeling too much at the same time.

Still, when he finally finds his friend Chenle, he barely hears his complaining before he holds Chenle in place with a grip around his shoulders and shakes him around. "Chenle, Chenle! Dude, I need your help _so_ bad."

Chenle cackles loudly and tries to bat Jisung's hands away from him. "Did you chicken out on the rollercoaster? I told you that—"

"I think I have a date tomorrow and I don't know a good place with ice cream even though I said I did."

Chenle stares hard at him for two full seconds before laughing once more, shaking his head and slapping him on the shoulder. "Good try, but I won't fall for this."

"Dude, it's true, look!"

Jisung shows his friend a few selfies he and Renjun had taken together, and one or two pictures Renjun had taken of him, besides one where Renjun was very cute in as he was trying to concentrate in a game. Chenle looks serious at every swipe of his finger, at every new picture that is revealed, muttering to himself " _What the fuck... what the fuck… what the fuck_ ".

When he finishes, Chenle only looks at him with brows furred, mumbling a " _What the fuck_ ", and Jisung wholeheartedly agrees with the bold statement. He still isn’t sure he isn’t dreaming all of that.

"I cannot believe you, Park Jisung," Chenle says, confusion lacing his every word.

Jisung also doesn't understand much, but just a quick glance at Renjun's name on his phone is enough to set his heart racing and he can't help the smile from appearing on his face. He can't wait to get home and start texting him.

**Author's Note:**

> come find me on [twt](https://twitter.com/pinkhrj) | [ccat](https://curiouscat.me/rensungie) <3  
> 


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